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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Nahziah Carter announces he’s leaving UW men’s basketball team to begin pro career

In this Jan. 19, 2019, photo, Washington's Nahziah Carter (11) shoots as California's Matt Bradley defends during an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019, in Seattle.   (Elaine Thompson/Associated Press)
By Percy Allen Seattle Times

SEATTLE – Nahziah Carter’s career with the Washington Huskies is over.

The senior guard announced Friday afternoon on his Twitter account that he’s leaving the Washington men’s basketball team to begin a professional basketball career.

Carter, a 6-foot-6 senior guard, averaged 12.2 points and 4.9 rebounds last season .

On Oct. 15, UW announced Carter violated the school’s Intercollegiate Athletics student code of conduct and was suspended from all team activities.

“Hopefully he can come back,” coach Mike Hopkins said at the time. “If not, it will be a huge loss for us.”

Washington has staggered to an 0-3 and 0-1 Pac-12 start with a revamped lineup missing its leading returning scorer from last season.

Carter was expected to assume a featured role after showing flashes of star potential during his three seasons at UW.

The Rochester, NY native had been a backup as a freshman and sophomore on UW teams that won 21 and 27 games, respectively.

Carter, who had a 44-inch vertical leap, became a UW fan favorite due to a collection of memorable dunks.

As a freshman, he posterized 6-8 California senior forward Cole Welle with tomahawk jam and flushed a putback jam over Utah’s Parker Van Dyke.

As a sophomore, Carter set social media ablaze with three highlight dunks at Oregon State, including a rim-rattling flush over 7-foot center Kylor Kelley that sent him crashing to the floor.

Carter was the third scoring option last season for a UW team led by freshmen Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels that finished 15-17 and last in the Pac-12 at 5-13.

Last spring, Carter considered entering the NBA draft but chose to return for his final year at UW.

“There’s still so much I want to do at Washington,” he said in January. “When I got here, we were able to turn the program around and get to the NCAA tournament.

“So I want to do that again and get back there. That’s first and foremost. … As for me, I can still grow so much as a player.”